Archive for the ‘Biotechnology’ Category

Biotechnology is that "branch of technology concerned with modern forms of industrial production utilizing living organisms, especially micro-organisms, and their biological processes," according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The actual term applies to a wide variety of uses of such biological technology, including the development of new breeds of plants and animals, the creation of therapeutic drugs and preventive vaccines, the growing of more nutritious and naturally pest-resistant crops as a food source, and the production of biofuels as an alternative energy source.

The basic idea of biotechnology has existed since prehistoric times. When early humans learned that they could plant their own crops and breed their own animals, and realized that they could selectively breed plants and livestock, they were practicing biotechnology. It was in 1919 that the actual term, "Biotechnologie" or "biotechnology," was coined by Karl Ereky, a Hungarian engineer. Since the end of World War II, biotechnology has also been used for large-scale waste management, chemotherapy drug production, ore leaching, and other commercial operations.

The discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953 pushed the field of biotechnology to the DNA level. Since the 1970s, using the techniques of gene splicing and recombinant DNA, scientists have been able to combine the genetic elements of two or more living organisms. Completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, as well as the availability of the entire genome sequences of various organisms and of advanced molecular techniques and tools (bioinformatics, comparative genomics, cloning, gene splicing, recombinant DNA), has paved the way for further biotechnological developments in agriculture, medicine, and other areas. Yet, as more novel uses of biotechnology are explored, ethical issues and controversies arise.

While the term "biotechnology" covers a very broad area, this guide focuses on the most recent uses of biotechnology in its four major fields: 1. medicine (vaccine development, chemotherapy drugs, stem cell therapy, gene therapy, and pharmacogenomics); 2. agriculture (genetically modified organisms and cloning); 3. energy and environment (biofuel and waste management); and 4. the bioethical and legal implications of biotechnology. This guide updates and replaces TB 84-7, and furnishes a review of the literature in the collections of the Library of Congress on the topic. Not intended as a comprehensive bibliography, this compilation is designed--as the name of the series implies--to put the reader "on target."

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Hoyle, Brian. Biotechnology. In Gale encyclopedia of science. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, editors. 4th ed. v. 1. Detroit, Thomson Gale, c2008. p. 579-581. Q121.G37 2008

Shmaefsky, Brian. The definition of biotechnology. In his Biotechnology 101. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 2006. p. 1-17. TP248.215.S56 2006

Smith, J. E. Public perception of biotechnology. In Basic biotechnology. Edited by Colin Ratledge and Bjrn Kristiansen. 3rd ed. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2006. p. 3-33. TP248.2.B367 2006

Zaitlin, Milton. Biotechnology. In McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of science & technology. 10th ed. v. 3. New York, McGraw-Hill, 2007. p. 127-130. Q121.M3 2007

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Subject headings used by the Library of Congress, under which books on biotechnology can be found include the following:

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Basic biotechnology. Edited by Colin Ratledge and Bjrn Kristiansen. 3rd ed. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2006. 666 p. TP248.2.B367 2006

Batiza, Ann. Bioinformatics, genomics, and proteomics: getting the big picture. Philadelphia, Chelsea House Publishers, c2006. 196 p. Bibliography: p. 181-188. QH324.2.B38 2006

Gazit, Ehud. Plenty of room for biology at the bottom: an introduction to bionanotechnology. London, Imperial College Press; Hackensack, NJ, World Scientific Pub., c2007. 183 p. Bibliography: p. 171-179. QP514.2.G39 2007

An Introduction to molecular biotechnology: molecular fundamentals, methods and applications in modern biotechnology. Edited by Michael Wink, translated by Renate Fitzroy. Weinheim, Wiley-VCH, c2006. 768 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.2.I6813 2006

Nicholl, Desmond S. T. An introduction to genetic engineering. 3rd ed. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2008. 336 p. Includes bibliographical references. QH442.N53 2008

Renneberg, Reinhard. Biotechnology for beginners. Edited by Arnold L. Demain. Berlin, Boston, Springer-Verlag, c2008. 360 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.2.R45 2008

Shmaefsky, Brian. Biotechnology 101. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 2006. 251 p. Bibliography: p. 235-245. TP248.215.S56 2006

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Biotechnology: changing life through science. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, editors. Detroit, Thomson Gale, c2007. 3 v. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.218.B56 2007

Brown, T. A. Gene cloning and DNA analysis: an introduction. 5th ed. Oxford, Malden, MA, Blackwell Pub., 2006. 386 p. Includes bibliographical references. QH442.2.B76 2006

Daugherty, Ellyn. Biotechnology: science for the new millennium. St. Paul, MN, Paradigm Publishers, c2007. 420 p. + 1 CD-ROM. TP248.2.D38 2007 FT MEADE

McGloughlin, Martina, and Edward Re. The evolution of biotechnology: from Natufians to nanotechnology. Dordrecht, Springer, c2006. 262 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.2.M434 2006

Pimentel, David, and Marcia H. Pimentel. Food, energy, and society. 3rd ed. Boca Raton, CRC Press, c2008. 380 p. Includes bibliographical references. HD9000.6.P55 2008

Shmaefsky, Brian. Biotechnology on the farm and in the factory: agricultural and industrial applications. Philadelphia, Chelsea House Publishers, c2006. 158 p. Bibliography: p. 145-149. S494.5.B563S53 2006

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Agriculture, Genetically Modified Organisms, and Food Biotechnology

Andre, Peter. Genetically modified diplomacy: the global politics of agricultural biotechnology and the environment. Vancouver, UBC Press, c2007. 324 p. Includes bibliographical references. S494.5.B563A53 2007

Biotechnology of fruit and nut crops. Edited by Richard E. Litz. Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Eng., Cambridge, MA, CABI Pub., c2005. 723 p. (Biotechnology in agriculture series, no. 29) Includes bibliographical references. SB359.3.B549 2005

Food biotechnology. Edited by Kalidas Shetty and others. 2nd ed. New York, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis, 2006. 1982 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.65.F66F6482 2006

Food biochemistry and food processing. Editor, Y. H. Hui; Associate editors, Wai-Kit Nip and others. Ames, IA, Blackwell Pub. Professional, 2006. 769 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP370.8.F66 2006

The Gene revolution: GM crops and unequal development. Edited by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr. London, Sterling, VA, Earthscan, 2007. 248 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.65.F66G44 2007

Herren, Ray V. Introduction to biotechnology: an agricultural revolution. Clifton Park, NY, Delmar Learning, c2005. 413 p. S494.5.B563H47 2005

Labeling genetically modified food: the philosophical and legal debate. Edited by Paul Weirich. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press, 2007. 249 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.65.F66L33 2007

Murphy, Denis J. Plant breeding and biotechnology: societal context and the future of agriculture. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2007. 423 p. Includes bibliographical references. SB123.M77 2007

Safety of genetically engineered foods: approaches to assessing unintended health effects. Committee on Identifying and Assessing Unintended Effects of Genetically Engineered Foods on Human Health, Board on Life Sciences, Food and Nutrition Board, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Institute of Medicine. Washington, National Academies Press, 2004. 235 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.65.F66S245 2004

Sanderson, Colin J. Understanding genes and GMOs. Singapore, Hackensack, NJ, World Scientific, c2007. 345 p. Includes bibliographical references. QH442.6.S26 2007

Thompson, Paul B. Food biotechnology in ethical perspective. 2nd ed. Dordrecht, Springer, c2007. 340 p. (The International library of environmental, agricultural and food ethics, 10) Bibliography: p. 309-334. TP248.65.F66T47 2007

Biotechnology Ethics and Law

Bailey, Ronald. Liberation biology: the scientific and moral case for the biotech revolution. Amherst, NY, Prometheus Books, 2005. 332 p. Bibliography: p. 247-310. TP248.23.B35 2005

Biotechnology and the law. Hugh B. Wellons and others. Chicago, American Bar Association, c2006. l957 p. Includes bibliographical references. KF3133.B56B56 2006

Bohrer, Robert A. A guide to biotechnology law and business. Durham, NC, Carolina Academic Press, c2007. 341 p. Includes bibliographical references. KF3133.B56 B64 2007

Cohen, Cynthia B. Renewing the stuff of life: stem cells, ethics, and public policy. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press, 2007. 311 p. Bibliography: p. 244-295. QH588.S83C46 2007

Fundamentals of the stem cell debate: the scientific, religious, ethical, and political issues. Edited by Kristen Renwick Monroe, Ronald B. Miller, and Jerome S. Tobis. Berkeley, University of California Press, c2008. 218 p. Includes bibliographical references. QH588.S83F86 2008

Morris, Jonathan. The ethics of biotechnology. Philadelphia, Chelsea House Publishers, c2006. 158 p. Bibliography: p. 142-144. TP248.23.M67 2006

Energy and Environment: Biofuels and Waste Management

Biofuels for transport: global potential and implications for sustainable energy and agriculture. Worldwatch Institute. London, Sterling, VA, Earthscan, 2007. 452 p. Bibliography: p. 407-443. TP339.B5435 2007

Biofuels refining and performance. Ahindra Nag, editor. New York, McGraw-Hill, c2008. 312 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP339.B5437 2008

Biomass: energy from plants and animals. Amanda de la Garza, book editor. Detroit, Greenhaven Press, c2007. 120 p. Bibliography: p. 109-113. TP339.B5646 2007

Bitton, Gabriel. Wastewater microbiology. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ, Wiley-Liss, John Wiley & Sons, c2005. 746 p. Includes bibliographical references. QR48.B53 2005

Logan, Bruce E. Microbial fuel cells. Hoboken, NJ, Wiley-Interscience, c2008. 200 p. Bibliography: p. 189-198. TP339.L64 2008

Materials, chemicals, and energy from forest biomass. Dimitris S. Argyropoulos, editor. Washington, American Chemical Society; Distributed by Oxford University Press, c2007. 591 p. (ACS symposium series, 954) Includes bibliographical references. TP339.M367 2007

Progress in biomass and bioenergy research. Steven F. Warnmer, editor. New York, Nova Science Publishers, c2007. 217 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP360.P768 2007

Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

Autologous and cancer stem cell gene therapy. Editors, Roger Bertolotti, Keiya Ozawa. Hackensack, NJ, World Scientific, c2008. 446 p. (Progress in gene therapy, v. 3) Includes bibliographical references. QH588.S83A98 2008

Biotechnology in personal care. Edited by Raj Lad. New York, Taylor & Francis, 2006. 454 p. (Cosmetic science and technology series, v. 29) Includes bibliographical references. TP983.B565 2006

Cancer biotherapy: an introductory guide. Edited by Annie Young, Lewis Rowett, David Kerr. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press, c2006. 323 p. Includes bibliographical references. RC271.I45C33 2006

Kelly, Evelyn B. Stem cells. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 2007. 203 p. Bibliography: p. 193-198. QH588.S83K45 2007

The National Academies guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research. Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee, Board on Life Sciences, Division on Earth and Life Studies, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Institute of Medicine, National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Washington, National Academies Press, c2007. 36 p. Includes bibliographical references. "2007 amendments." QH442.2.N38 2007

Newton, David E. Stem cell research. New York, Facts On File, c2007. 284 p. Includes bibliographical references. QH588.S83N49 2007

Panno, Joseph. Stem cell research: medical applications and ethical controversy. New York, Facts On File, c2005. 178 p. Bibliography: p. 157-161. QH588.S83P36 2005

Pharmaceutical biotechnology. Edited by Michael J. Groves. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, Taylor & Francis, 2006. 411 p. Includes bibliographical references. RS380.P475 2005

Pharmaceutical biotechnology: fundamentals and applications. Edited by Daan J. A. Crommelin, Robert D. Sindelar, Bernd Meibohm. 3rd ed. New York, Informa Healthcare, c2008. 466 p. Includes bibliographical references. RS380.P484 2008

Sasson, Albert. Medical biotechnology: achievements, prospects and perceptions. Tokyo, New York, United Nations University Press, c2005. 154 p. Bibliography: p. 143-148. TP248.2.S273 2005

Schacter, Bernice. Biotechnology and your health: pharmaceutical applications. Philadelphia, Chelsea House Publishers, c2006. 178 p. Bibliography: p. 163-167. RS380.S33 2006

Stem cells and cancer. Devon W. Parsons, editor. New York, Nova Biomedical Books, c2007. 284 p. Includes bibliographical references. RC269.7.S74 2007

Stem cells: from bench to bedside. Editors, Ariff Bongso and Eng Hin Lee. Singapore, Hackensack, NJ, World Scientific, c2005. 565 p. Includes bibliographical references. QH588.S83B66 2005

Stephenson, Frank Harold. DNA: how the biotech revolution is changing the way we fight disease. Amherst, NY, Prometheus Books, 2007. 333 p. Bibliography: p. 303-312. TP248.215.S74 2007

Walsh, Gary. Pharmaceutical biotechnology: concepts and applications. Chichester, Eng., Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons, c2007. 480 p. Includes bibliographical references. RS380.W35 2007

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Glazer, Alexander N., and Hiroshi Nikaido. Microbial biotechnology: fundamentals of applied microbiology. 2nd ed. Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2007. 554 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.27.M53G57 2007

Globalization, biosecurity, and the future of the life sciences. Committee on Advances in Technology and the Prevention of Their Application to Next Generation Biowarfare Threats, Development, Security, and Cooperation Policy and Global Affairs Division, Board on Global Health, Institute of Medicine, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council of the National Academies. Washington, National Academies Press, c2006. 299 p. Includes bibliographical references. HV6433.3.G56 2006

Landecker, Hannah. Culturing life: how cells became technologies. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2007. 276 p. Bibliography: p. 239-271. QH585.2.L36 2007

Okafor, Nduka. Modern industrial microbiology and biotechnology. Enfield, NH, Science Publishers, c2007. 530 p. Includes bibliographical references. QR53.O355 2007

Principles of tissue engineering. Edited by Robert P. Lanza, Robert Langer, Joseph Vacanti. 3rd ed. Amsterdam, Boston, Elsevier/Academic Press, c2007. 1307 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.27.A53P75 2007

Sunder Rajan, Kaushik. Biocapital: the constitution of postgenomic life. Durham, NC, Duke University Press, 2006. 343 p. Bibliography: p. 315-326. HD9999.B442S86 2006

Ullmanns biotechnology and biochemical engineering. Weinheim, Wiley-VCH, c2007. 2 v. (855 p.) Includes bibliographical references. TP248.2.U44 2007

Zimmer, Marc. Glowing genes: a revolution in biotechnology. Amherst, NY, Prometheus Books, 2005. 221 p. Includes bibliographical references. QP552.G73Z56 2005

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Bains, William. Biotechnology from A to Z. 3rd ed. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press, 2004. 413 p. Bibliography: p. 387. TP248.16.B33 2004

Encyclopedia of genetics. Editor, revised edition, Bryan D. Ness; editor, first edition, Jeffrey A. Knight. Rev. ed. Pasadena, CA, Salem Press, c2004. 2 v. Includes bibliographical references. QH427.E53 2004

Kahl, Gnter. The dictionary of gene technology: genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics. 3rd ed. Weinheim, Wiley-VCH, c2004. 2 v. (1290 p.) QH442.K333 2004

Kent and Riegel's handbook of industrial chemistry and biotechnology. Edited by James A. Kent. 11th ed. New York, Springer, c2007. 1 v. Includes bibliographical references. Rev. ed. of Riegels handbook of industrial chemistry. 2003. TP145.R53 2007

Nill, Kimball R. Glossary of biotechnology and nanobiotechnology terms. 4th ed. Boca Raton, Taylor & Francis, 2006. 402 p. TP248.16.F54 2006

Plunkett's biotech & genetics industry almanac. Houston, TX, Plunkett Research, c2001- . Annual. HD9999.B44P57

Steinberg, Mark, and Sharon D. Cosloy. The Facts on File dictionary of biotechnology and genetic engineering. 3rd ed. New York, Facts on File, 2006. 275 p. Not yet in LC

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Challenges and risks of genetically engineered organisms. Paris, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, c2004. 223 p. Includes bibliographical references. Proceedings of a workshop on "Challenges and Risks of GMOs-What Risk Analysis is Appropriate?" held in Maastricht, Netherlands, 16-18 July 2003. QH450.C45 2004

European Society of Animal Cell Technology. General Meeting (19th, 2005, Harrogate, England). Cell technology for cell products: proceedings of the 19th ESACT Meeting, Harrogate, UK, June 5-8, 2005. Edited by Rodney Smith. Dordrecht, Springer, c2007. 821 p. Includes bibliographical references. TP248.27.A53E93 2005

European Symposium on Environmental Biotechnology (2004, Oostende, Belgium). European Symposium on Environmental Biotechnology--ESEB 2004: proceedings of the European Symposium on Environmental Biotechnology, ESEB 2004, 25-28 April 2004, Oostende, Belgium. Edited by W. Verstraete. Leiden, Balkema, 2004. 909 p. Includes bibliographical references. TD192.5.E965 2004

Food Innovation: Emerging Science, Technologies and Applications (FIESTA) conference. Edited by Peter Roupas. In Innovative food science & emerging technologies, v. 9, Apr. 2008: 139-254. TP248.65.F66I55

Frontiers in Biomedical Devices Conference (2nd, 2007, Irvine, Calif.). Proceedings of the 2nd Frontiers in Biomedical Devices Conference--2007: presented at the Frontiers in Biomedical Devices Conference, June 7-8, 2007, Irvine, California, USA. New York, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, c2007. 160 p. Includes bibliographical references. R857.M3F76 2007

International Conference on Experimental Mechanics (2006, Jeju, Korea). Experimental mechanics in nano and biotechnology. Edited by Soon-Bok Lee, Yun-Jae Kim. etikon Zrich, Switzerland; Enfield, NH, Trans Tech Publications, Ltd., 2006. 2 v. (Key engineering materials, v. 326-328) Includes bibliographical references. Proceedings of the International Conference on Experimental Mechanics (ICEM 2006) and the 5th Asian Conference on Experimental Mechanics (ACEM5), September 26-29, 2006, Jeju, Korea; organized by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Asian Committee for Experimental Mechanics (ACEM). TA349.I478 2006

Symposium of the Tohoku University 21st Century Center of Excellence Program (2007, Tohoku University, Japan). Future medical engineering based on bionanotechnology: proceedings of the final symposium of the Tohoku University 21st Century Center of Excellence Program, Sendai International Center, Japan 7-9 January 2007. Editors, Esashi Masayoshi and others. London, Imperial College Press, 2006. 1115 p. Includes bibliographical references. R857.N34S94 2007

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Biotechnology Jobs on CareerBuilder.com

The hidden evolutionary relationship between pigs and primates revealed by genome-wide study of transposable elements

(Phys.org)In the past, geneticists focused primarily on the evolution of genes in order to trace the relationships between species. More recently, genetic elements called SINEs (short interspersed elements) have emerged ...

Invisible to the naked eye, plant-parasitic nematodes are a huge threat to agriculture, causing billions in crop losses every year. Plant scientists at the University of Missouri and the University of Bonn in Germany have ...

A team including the scientist who first harnessed the revolutionary CRISPR-Cas9 system for mammalian genome editing has now identified a different CRISPR system with the potential for even simpler and more precise genome ...

A team of scientists at the University of Washington and the biotechnology company Illumina have created an innovative tool to directly detect the delicate, single-molecule interactions between DNA and enzymatic proteins. ...

To feed the world's burgeoning population, producers must grow crops in more challenging terrain where plant roots must cope with barriers. To that end, Cornell University physicists and Boyce Thompson Institute plant ...

(Phys.org)'Brains, Genes, and Primates' is the title of a curious perspective article recently published in the journal Neuron. In it, a who's who of dignitaries and luminaries from the field of neuroscience toss out a ...

Along the northern edge of the Gulf of Mexico is a 6,000-square mile dead zone of oxygen-depleted water filled with dead plants, dead fish and a damaged ecosystem.

A team of scientists from the University of California, Riverside and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the Philippines, recently published a study unlocking the secret to just how rice seeds might be able ...

Stanford researchers have ripped the guts out of a virus and totally redesigned its core to repurpose its infectious capabilities into a safe vehicle for delivering vaccines and therapies directly where they are needed.

(Phys.org)In sub-Saharan Africa, few agricultural parasites are as devastating to a wide variety of crops as Striga hermonthica, commonly known as witchweed. It chokes out such staple crops as sorghum, millet and rice, ...

(Phys.org)Coral reefs are the most diverse marine ecosystems, biodiversity hotspots now under anthropogenic threat from climate change, ocean acidification and pollution. Efforts are underway to protect and expand shrinking ...

The world population, which stood at 2.5 billion in 1950, is predicted to increase to 10.5 billion by 2050. It's a stunning number since it means the planet's population has doubled within the lifetimes of many people alive ...

(Phys.org)What have viruses ever done for humans? The question is debatable, but given the prevalence of highly contagious, and sometimes life-threatening illnesses caused by viruses, it's fair to say that most people ...

Forget the Vulcan mind-meld of the Star Trek generationas far as mind control techniques go, bacteria is the next frontier.

Overcoming limitations of super-resolution microscopy to optimize imaging of RNA in living cells is a key motivation for physics graduate student Takuma Inoue, who works in the lab of MIT assistant professor of physics Ibrahim ...

For thousands of years, people have used yeast to ferment wine, brew beer and leaven bread.

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A gene that helps plants to remain healthy during times of stress has been identified by researchers at Oxford University. Its presence helps plants to tolerate environmental pressures like droughtand it could help create ...

China's struggle - mirrored across the globeto balance public concern over the safety of genetically modified (GM) crops with a swelling demand for affordable food crops has left a disconnect: In China's case, shrinking ...

A gene that triggers remodeling of neural circuits in C. elegans during development has been identified by Michael Francis, PhD, associate professor of neurobiology. The study, details of which were published in Current Biology, ...

Researchers are able to clone domestic animals using various techniques, including embryo splitting and nuclear transfer, but the expense and inherent inefficiencies of most cloning processes have limited procedures to research ...

Research teams from the University of Valencia and the University of Tours have discovered that genes originating from parasitic wasps are present in the genomes of many butterflies. These genes were acquired through a wasp-associated ...

If you go back far enough, all people share a common ancestry. But some populations are more closely related than others based on events in the past that brought them together. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press ...

(Phys.org)Human genomic diversity studies provide a window to population movements across regions and societies throughout history. Generally, South America has been underrepresented in such studies, but recognizing that ...

The burgeoning field of optogenetics has seen another breakthrough with the creation of a new plant-human hybrid protein molecule called OptoSTIM1. In South Korea, a research team led by Won Do Heo, associate professor at ...

A new study from researchers at Uppsala University shows that variation in genome size may be much more important than previously believed. It is clear that, at least sometimes, a large genome is a good genome.

The face of a chimpanzee is decidedly different from that of a human, despite the fact that the apes are our nearest relative in the primate tree. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have begun to ...

What has spoiled tens upon tens of thousands of fledgling oil palm plants at elite corporate plantations in Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia over the last three decades? The answer to this problem, which has cost ...

Fans of homebrewed beer and backyard distilleries already know how to employ yeast to convert sugar into alcohol. But a research team led by bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, has gone much further by ...

(Phys.org)In the complex, somewhat rarified world of interactions between various flavors of RNA, one elusive goal is to understand the precise regulatory relationships between competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA), microRNA ...

A study on a sorghum population at Kansas State University has helped researchers better understand why a crop hybrid often performs better than either of its parent lines, known as heterosis.

The CRISPR-Cas9 system has been in the limelight mainly as a revolutionary genome engineering tool used to modify specific gene sequences within the vast sea of an organism's DNA. Cas9, a naturally occurring protein in the ...

University of Adelaide research has shown for the first time that, despite not having a nervous system, plants use signals normally associated with animals when they encounter stress.

Genes that express in precisely timed patterns, known as oscillatory genes, play an essential role in development functions like cell division, circadian rhythms and limb formation. But without a time-lapse view of genetic ...

Hand-written letters and printed photos seem quaint in today's digital age. But there's one thing that traditional media have over hard drives: longevity. To address this modern shortcoming, scientists are turning to DNA ...

Barley, a widely grown cereal grain commonly used to make beer and other alcoholic beverages, possesses a large and highly repetitive genome that is difficult to fully sequence. Now a team led by scientists at the University ...

Researchers in Canada and the U.K. have for the first time sequenced and assembled de novo the full genome of a living organism, the bacteria Escherichia Coli, using Oxford Nanopore's MinION device, a genome sequencer that ...

Researchers at the University of Georgia have used a gene editing tool known as CRISPR/Cas to modify the genome of a tree species for the first time. Their research, published recently in the early online edition of the journal ...

High salt in soil dramatically stresses plant biology and reduces the growth and yield of crops. Now researchers have found specific proteins that allow plants to grow better under salt stress, and may help breed future generations ...

Growing the right number of vertebrae in the right places is an important job and scientists have found the molecules that act like 'theatre directors' for vertebrae genes in mice: telling them how much or how little ...

Ten thousand years ago, a golden grain got naked, brought people together and grew to become one of the top agricultural commodities on the planet.

One of the enduring mysteries of the human experience is how and why humans moved from hunting and gathering to farming.

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have for the first time created and used a nanoscale vehicle made of DNA to deliver a CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool into ...

Nitrogen and phosphate nutrients are among the biggest costs in cultivating algae for biofuels. Sandia molecular biologists Todd Lane and Ryan Davis have shown they can recycle about two-thirds of those critical nutrients, ...

Mosquitoes are a key contributor to the spread of potentially deadly diseases such as dengue and malaria, as they harbor parasites and viruses that are spread when mosquitoes bite humans and animals. Now, researchers at the ...

Natural selection is a race to reproduce, a competition between individuals with varying traits that helps direct the evolution of a species. As scientists begin to explore the complex networks of genes that shape the form ...

(Phys.org)A team of researchers at British company Oxitec has developed a genetic approach to controlling diamondback moth caterpillars and report that trials in greenhouse conditions has gone so well that they are ready ...

A new technology that will dramatically enhance investigations of epigenomes, the machinery that turns on and off genes and a very prominent field of study in diseases such as stem cell differentiation, inflammation and cancer, ...

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Skip to content Master of Science in Biotechnology

Teaching in Northeasterns Biotechnology master's program is an opportunity to transfer my knowledge in industry to bright young scientists. I hire some in co-op positions and watch them grow as professionals. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing your pupils become successful in what they were taught. - Greg Zarbis-Papastoitsis, VP Process & Manufacturing, Eleven Biotherapeutics

"The biotechnology master's degree program played a significant role in my development as a science professional. By the end of my co-op at EMD Serono, Inc., I was not only recognized as a valuable technical expert but also as a responsible professional the company needed." Shruti Pratapa, Research Associate, EMD Serono, Inc.

The Northeastern University MS in Biotechnology is a certified Professional Science Master's Degree program -- a unique and cutting-edge degree that combines advanced science education with opportunities to interact with leading practitioners in the biomedical and pharmaceutical community here in Boston and around the world.

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What is Biotechnology

Biotechnology is most briefly defined as the art of utilizing living organisms and their products for the production of food, drink, medicine or for other benefits to the human race, or other animal species.

Technically speaking, humans have been making use of biotechnology since they discovered farming, with the planting of seeds to control plant growth and crop production.

Animal breeding is also a form of biotechnology. More recently, cross-pollination of plants and cross-breeding of animals were macro-biological techniques in biotechnology, used to enhance product quality and/or meet specific requirements or standards.

The discovery of microorganisms and the subsequent burst of knowledge related to the causes of infectious diseases, antibiotics and immunizations could probably be counted among mans most significant, life-altering discoveries.

However, the most modern techniques in biotechnology owe their existence to the discovery of DNA and the protein products of genes, most importantly, enzymes. The discovery of the techniques essential for gene cloning allowed scientists to manipulate enzyme structure and function for specific purposes. Current scientific methods are more specific than historical techniques, as scientists now directly alter genetic material with atomic precision, using techniques otherwise known as recombinant DNA technology.

As technology advances, the many roles biotech plays in our lives increases. Since George Washington Carver, scientists have been learning how to use biochemicals isolated from plants, to produce chemical products for everyday use around the house, the first "green biotech products".

Since then, biotechnological advances can be found in nearly all sectors of industry. There are, of course, the obvious medical, pharmaceutical and food industries. Biotechnology is being used to determine cause and effect of various diseases and are used in the production of drugs.

The production of foods is enhanced by biotechnological advances that improve crop yields, introduce in-situ insect resistance and provide new ways of food preservation.

Other advances include packaging consisting of biomass plastics, or bioplastics, and built-in bioindicators for detecting contamination.

In the environmental sector, biotech has played a role in remediation of contaminated land, water and air, pest control, treatment of industrial effluents and emissions, and acid mine drainage. Bioremediation and phytoremediation are used to restore brownfields for redevelopment.

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Biotechnology - Biomedical - Industrial Enzymes

The Agricultural Biotechnology Project addresses scientific concerns, government policies, and corporate practices pertaining to genetically engineered (GE) plants and animals that are released into the environment or that end up in our foods.

Download the CSPI Biotechnology Project brochure.

What is Genetic Engineering? Genetic engineering allows specific genes isolated from any organism (such as a bacterium) to be added to the genetic material of the same or a different organism (such as a corn plant). This technology differs from traditional plant and animal breeding in which the genes of only closely related organisms (such as a corn plant and its wild relatives) can be exchanged. As a result, GE foods can carry traits that were never previously in our foods. However, GE is just one of many different methods that scientists use to create improved varieties of plants and animals. Other laboratory methods to create genetic variety include chemical mutagenesis, x-ray mutagenesis, cell fusion, and artificial insemination.

The Projects goals are to:

Biotechnology Project Positions:

1.) Foods and ingredients made from currently grown GE crops are safe to eat. That is the conclusion of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Academy of Sciences, the European Food Safety Authority, and numerous other international regulatory agencies and scientific bodies.

2.) GE crops grown in the U.S. and around the world provide tremendous benefits to farmers and the environment. Corn and cotton engineered with their own built-in pesticide have greatly reduced the amount of chemical insecticides sprayed by farmers in the United States, India, and China. Herbicide-tolerant soybeans have allowed farmers to use an environmentally safer herbicide (glyphosate), practice conservation-till agriculture, and save time. Corn engineered with a biological insecticide has reduced insect populations so that all corn farmers (biotech, non-GE conventional farmers, and organic farmers) benefit by using less chemical insecticide and having corn with less pest damage. Virus-resistant GE papayas saved the Hawaiian papaya industry from a deadly virus.

3.) The U.S. regulatory system for GE crops and animals needs improvement. Congress should establish at FDA a mandatory pre-market approval process for GE crops and provide explicit authority to regulate any environmental risks associated with GE animals. USDA needs to update its oversight of GE crops to include its noxious weed authority and to ensure that all GE crops are regulated.

4.) Sustainable practices are essential to achieving long-term benefits from GE crops. Resistant weeds and pests have developed because of misuse and overuse of GE crops by technology developers and farmers. Herbicide-tolerant crops must be grown in conjunction with integrated weed management techniques, with emphasis on rotation of crops and herbicides with different modes of action. Farmers growing Bt corn must use integrated pest management and crop rotation, and comply with refuge requirements to prevent development of pesticide-resistant pests.

5.) GE crops can play a positive role in the agriculture of developing countries. While GE crops are not a panacea for solving food insecurity or world hunger, they are an extremely powerful and beneficial tool scientists can use to create crop varieties helpful to farmers in developing countries. If GE crops are safe for humans and the environment, farmers in developing countries should be given the opportunity to decide for themselves whether to adopt such varieties.

Click here to download a brochure about the CSPI Biotechnology Project.

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Biotechnology - Center for Science in the Public Interest

What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is a group of related technologies that use biological agents in a broad spectrum of applications to provide goods and services. In only a few years, biotechnology has revolutionized many disciplines including:

The Biotechnology Technician Program provides students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge and skills needed to perform competently in a life sciences laboratory environment. The industry is a large and growing contributor to regional and national economic output. As such, Biotechnology is an important emerging industry that is expected to contribute dramatically to the 21st century economy and is thus an excellent career choice for students.

Program personnel seek to foster a sense of excitement for scientific discovery, teamwork, critical thinking, effective communication, and a positive attitude in students. In addition, partnerships with local industries provide students with the most current and cutting edge knowledge and techniques in the field. The program provides hands-on experience with over 100 hours spent in the laboratory, beginning in the first semester.

DNA manipulation and analysis

Expression and purification of proteins

Cell culture techniques

Enzyme and antibody assays

Lab safety

Critical thinking and problem solving

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Salt Lake Community College - Biotechnology

Forty years ago, viable monoclonal antibodies, imperceptibly small magic bullets, became available for the first time. First produced in 1975 by Csar Milstein and Georges Khler at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England (where Watson and Crick unraveled the structure of DNA), Mabs have had a phenomenally far-reaching effect on our society and daily life. The Lock and Key of Medicine is the first book to tell the extraordinary yet unheralded history of monoclonal antibodies, or Mabs. Though unfamiliar to most nonscientists, these microscopic protein molecules are everywhere, quietly shaping our lives and healthcare. They have radically changed understandings of the pathways of disease, enabling faster, cheaper, and more accurate clinical diagnostic testing. And they lie at the heart of the development of genetically engineered drugs such as interferon and blockbuster personalized therapies such as Herceptin.

Historian of medicine Lara V. Marks recounts the risks and opposition that a daring handful of individuals faced while discovering and developing Mabs, and she addresses the related scientific, medical, technological, business, and social challenges that arose. She offers a saga of entrepreneurs who ultimately changed the healthcare landscape and brought untold relief to millions of patients. Even so, controversies over Mabs remain, which the author explores through the current debates on their cost-effectiveness.

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What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is the use of biological processes, organisms, or systems to manufacture products intended to improve the quality of human life. The earliest biotechnologists were farmers who developed improved species of plants and animals by cross pollenization or cross breeding. In recent years, biotechnology has expanded in sophistication, scope, and applicability.

The science of biotechnology can be broken down into subdisciplines called red, white, green, and blue. Red biotechnology involves medical processes such as getting organisms to produce new drugs, or using stem cells to regenerate damaged human tissues and perhaps re-grow entire organs. White (also called gray) biotechnology involves industrial processes such as the production of new chemicals or the development of new fuels for vehicles. Green biotechnology applies to agriculture and involves such processes as the development of pest-resistant grains or the accelerated evolution of disease-resistant animals. Blue biotechnology, rarely mentioned, encompasses processes in marine and aquatic environments, such as controlling the proliferation of noxious water-borne organisms.

Biotechnology, like other advanced technologies, has the potential for misuse. Concern about this has led to efforts by some groups to enact legislation restricting or banning certain processes or programs, such as human cloning and embryonic stem-cell research. There is also concern that if biotechnological processes are used by groups with nefarious intent, the end result could be biological warfare.

Also see nanotechnology and genetic engineering .

This was last updated in May 2007

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What is biotechnology? - Definition from WhatIs.com

Amrita School of Biotechnology, with qualified faculty including several Ph. D.s recruited from academia and industry around the world, is perfectly poised to offer students an opportunity to develop expertise and succeed in building a career in the exciting areas of biotechnology and related fields. Our cutting-edge curricula with state-of-the-art facilities for teaching and research will provide a solid foundation in the biological sciences. With a vibrant academic environment and a unique approach to learning that involves thought-provoking discussions and constant interaction among students and faculty,...Read More

The School offers three postgraduate and two undergraduate programs in biotechnology, microbiology and bioinformatics as well as research programs.Read more

The Amrita School of Biotechnology offers programs of education at the undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels that bolsters core science concepts...Read more

The faculty, well-known and highly respected in their respective academic fraternities, is really what distinguishes School of Biotechnology. They are drawn from among the best minds in the world. This affords the school an extensive network of contacts which are instrumental in getting collaborative researches, live student projects and industry inputs so essential to quality biotechnology education. The faculty includes acclaimed scholars and award winning professors drawn from all life sciences disciplines. The eclectic blend of faculty, academicians, researchers, and professionals drawn from India and abroad...Read more

The Amrita School of Biotechnology in Amritapuri is also approved as a Centre of Relevance and Excellence [CORE] in Biomedical Technology under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, TIFAC Mission REACH programme. Read more

Over the years Amrita School of Biotechnology has developed working relationships with many of the best universities in the world. Strong collaboration with national and international organizations is the hallmark of all research carried out at Amrita School of Biotechnology and to this extent we have developed a broad range of international partnerships around the world. We, at Amrita, give tremendous significance to research and development of new products and technologies and with more than a hundred research projects aiming to benefit society...Read more

The School of Biotechnology is nestled in a serene campus located adjacent to the scenic backwaters of Kerala and the Arabian Sea. Despite the rigors of a life devoted to excellence in technology, creativity blossoms naturally and the spirit of selfless service adds fragrance to every event. The School has separate boarding and mess facilities for male and female students, faculties and researchers. An ever-updating library at the campus with a vast collection of qualitative publications help the student stay abreast with the current knowledge in academics and research domain. Medical assistance around the clock is available... Read more

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Biotechnology | Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University)

Biotechnology is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents to provide goods and services.[1] From its inception, biotechnology has maintained a close relationship with society. Although now most often associated with the development of drugs, historically biotechnology has been principally associated with food, addressing such issues as malnutrition and famine. The history of biotechnology begins with zymotechnology, which commenced with a focus on brewing techniques for beer. By World War I, however, zymotechnology would expand to tackle larger industrial issues, and the potential of industrial fermentation gave rise to biotechnology. However, both the single-cell protein and gasohol projects failed to progress due to varying issues including public resistance, a changing economic scene, and shifts in political power.

Yet the formation of a new field, genetic engineering, would soon bring biotechnology to the forefront of science in society, and the intimate relationship between the scientific community, the public, and the government would ensue. These debates gained exposure in 1975 at the Asilomar Conference, where Joshua Lederberg was the most outspoken supporter for this emerging field in biotechnology. By as early as 1978, with the synthesis of synthetic human insulin, Lederberg's claims would prove valid, and the biotechnology industry grew rapidly. Each new scientific advance became a media event designed to capture public support, and by the 1980s, biotechnology grew into a promising real industry. In 1988, only five proteins from genetically engineered cells had been approved as drugs by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but this number would skyrocket to over 125 by the end of the 1990s.

The field of genetic engineering remains a heated topic of discussion in today's society with the advent of gene therapy, stem cell research, cloning, and genetically modified food. While it seems only natural nowadays to link pharmaceutical drugs as solutions to health and societal problems, this relationship of biotechnology serving social needs began centuries ago.

Biotechnology arose from the field of zymotechnology or zymurgy, which began as a search for a better understanding of industrial fermentation, particularly beer. Beer was an important industrial, and not just social, commodity. In late 19th century Germany, brewing contributed as much to the gross national product as steel, and taxes on alcohol proved to be significant sources of revenue to the government.[2] In the 1860s, institutes and remunerative consultancies were dedicated to the technology of brewing. The most famous was the private Carlsberg Institute, founded in 1875, which employed Emil Christian Hansen, who pioneered the pure yeast process for the reliable production of consistent beer. Less well known were private consultancies that advised the brewing industry. One of these, the Zymotechnic Institute, was established in Chicago by the German-born chemist John Ewald Siebel.

The heyday and expansion of zymotechnology came in World War I in response to industrial needs to support the war. Max Delbrck grew yeast on an immense scale during the war to meet 60 percent of Germany's animal feed needs.[3] Compounds of another fermentation product, lactic acid, made up for a lack of hydraulic fluid, glycerol. On the Allied side the Russian chemist Chaim Weizmann used starch to eliminate Britain's shortage of acetone, a key raw material in explosives, by fermenting maize to acetone. The industrial potential of fermentation was outgrowing its traditional home in brewing, and "zymotechnology" soon gave way to "biotechnology."

With food shortages spreading and resources fading, some dreamed of a new industrial solution. The Hungarian Kroly Ereky coined the word "biotechnology" in Hungary during 1919 to describe a technology based on converting raw materials into a more useful product. He built a slaughterhouse for a thousand pigs and also a fattening farm with space for 50,000 pigs, raising over 100,000 pigs a year. The enterprise was enormous, becoming one of the largest and most profitable meat and fat operations in the world. In a book entitled Biotechnologie, Ereky further developed a theme that would be reiterated through the 20th century: biotechnology could provide solutions to societal crises, such as food and energy shortages. For Ereky, the term "biotechnologie" indicated the process by which raw materials could be biologically upgraded into socially useful products.[4]

This catchword spread quickly after the First World War, as "biotechnology" entered German dictionaries and was taken up abroad by business-hungry private consultancies as far away as the United States. In Chicago, for example, the coming of prohibition at the end of World War I encouraged biological industries to create opportunities for new fermentation products, in particular a market for nonalcoholic drinks. Emil Siebel, the son of the founder of the Zymotechnic Institute, broke away from his father's company to establish his own called the "Bureau of Biotechnology," which specifically offered expertise in fermented nonalcoholic drinks.[5]

The belief that the needs of an industrial society could be met by fermenting agricultural waste was an important ingredient of the "chemurgic movement."[6] Fermentation-based processes generated products of ever-growing utility. In the 1940s, penicillin was the most dramatic. While it was discovered in England, it was produced industrially in the U.S. using a deep fermentation process originally developed in Peoria, Illinois. The enormous profits and the public expectations penicillin engendered caused a radical shift in the standing of the pharmaceutical industry. Doctors used the phrase "miracle drug", and the historian of its wartime use, David Adams, has suggested that to the public penicillin represented the perfect health that went together with the car and the dream house of wartime American advertising.[7] In the 1950s, steroids were synthesized using fermentation technology. In particular, cortisone promised the same revolutionary ability to change medicine as penicillin had.

Even greater expectations of biotechnology were raised during the 1960s by a process that grew single-cell protein. When the so-called protein gap threatened world hunger, producing food locally by growing it from waste seemed to offer a solution. It was the possibilities of growing microorganisms on oil that captured the imagination of scientists, policy makers, and commerce.[8] Major companies such as British Petroleum (BP) staked their futures on it. In 1962, BP built a pilot plant at Cap de Lavera in Southern France to publicize its product, Toprina.[9] Initial research work at Lavera was done by Alfred Champagnat,[10] In 1963, construction started on BP's second pilot plant at Grangemouth Oil Refinery in Britain.[10]

As there was no well-accepted term to describe the new foods, in 1966 the term "single-cell protein" (SCP) was coined at MIT to provide an acceptable and exciting new title, avoiding the unpleasant connotations of microbial or bacterial.[9]

The "food from oil" idea became quite popular by the 1970s, when facilities for growing yeast fed by n-paraffins were built in a number of countries. The Soviets were particularly enthusiastic, opening large "BVK" (belkovo-vitaminny kontsentrat, i.e., "protein-vitamin concentrate") plants next to their oil refineries in Kstovo (1973) [11][12][13] and Kirishi (1974).[14]

By the late 1970s, however, the cultural climate had completely changed, as the growth in SCP interest had taken place against a shifting economic and cultural scene (136). First, the price of oil rose catastrophically in 1974, so that its cost per barrel was five times greater than it had been two years earlier. Second, despite continuing hunger around the world, anticipated demand also began to shift from humans to animals. The program had begun with the vision of growing food for Third World people, yet the product was instead launched as an animal food for the developed world. The rapidly rising demand for animal feed made that market appear economically more attractive. The ultimate downfall of the SCP project, however, came from public resistance.[15]

This was particularly vocal in Japan, where production came closest to fruition. For all their enthusiasm for innovation and traditional interest in microbiologically produced foods, the Japanese were the first to ban the production of single-cell proteins. The Japanese ultimately were unable to separate the idea of their new "natural" foods from the far from natural connotation of oil.[15] These arguments were made against a background of suspicion of heavy industry in which anxiety over minute traces of petroleum was expressed. Thus, public resistance to an unnatural product led to the end of the SCP project as an attempt to solve world hunger.

Also, in 1989 in the USSR, the public environmental concerns made the government decide to close down (or convert to different technologies) all 8 paraffin-fed-yeast plants that the Soviet Ministry of Microbiological Industry had by that time.[14]

In the late 1970s, biotechnology offered another possible solution to a societal crisis. The escalation in the price of oil in 1974 increased the cost of the Western world's energy tenfold.[16] In response, the U.S. government promoted the production of gasohol, gasoline with 10 percent alcohol added, as an answer to the energy crisis.[7] In 1979, when the Soviet Union sent troops to Afghanistan, the Carter administration cut off its supplies to agricultural produce in retaliation, creating a surplus of agriculture in the U.S. As a result, fermenting the agricultural surpluses to synthesize fuel seemed to be an economical solution to the shortage of oil threatened by the Iran-Iraq war. Before the new direction could be taken, however, the political wind changed again: the Reagan administration came to power in January 1981 and, with the declining oil prices of the 1980s, ended support for the gasohol industry before it was born.[17]

Biotechnology seemed to be the solution for major social problems, including world hunger and energy crises. In the 1960s, radical measures would be needed to meet world starvation, and biotechnology seemed to provide an answer. However, the solutions proved to be too expensive and socially unacceptable, and solving world hunger through SCP food was dismissed. In the 1970s, the food crisis was succeeded by the energy crisis, and here too, biotechnology seemed to provide an answer. But once again, costs proved prohibitive as oil prices slumped in the 1980s. Thus, in practice, the implications of biotechnology were not fully realized in these situations. But this would soon change with the rise of genetic engineering.

The origins of biotechnology culminated with the birth of genetic engineering. There were two key events that have come to be seen as scientific breakthroughs beginning the era that would unite genetics with biotechnology. One was the 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA, by Watson and Crick, and the other was the 1973 discovery by Cohen and Boyer of a recombinant DNA technique by which a section of DNA was cut from the plasmid of an E. coli bacterium and transferred into the DNA of another.[18] This approach could, in principle, enable bacteria to adopt the genes and produce proteins of other organisms, including humans. Popularly referred to as "genetic engineering," it came to be defined as the basis of new biotechnology.

Genetic engineering proved to be a topic that thrust biotechnology into the public scene, and the interaction between scientists, politicians, and the public defined the work that was accomplished in this area. Technical developments during this time were revolutionary and at times frightening. In December 1967, the first heart transplant by Christian Barnard reminded the public that the physical identity of a person was becoming increasingly problematic. While poetic imagination had always seen the heart at the center of the soul, now there was the prospect of individuals being defined by other people's hearts.[19] During the same month, Arthur Kornberg announced that he had managed to biochemically replicate a viral gene. "Life had been synthesized," said the head of the National Institutes of Health.[19] Genetic engineering was now on the scientific agenda, as it was becoming possible to identify genetic characteristics with diseases such as beta thalassemia and sickle-cell anemia.

Responses to scientific achievements were colored by cultural skepticism. Scientists and their expertise were looked upon with suspicion. In 1968, an immensely popular work, The Biological Time Bomb, was written by the British journalist Gordon Rattray Taylor. The author's preface saw Kornberg's discovery of replicating a viral gene as a route to lethal doomsday bugs. The publisher's blurb for the book warned that within ten years, "You may marry a semi-artificial man or womanchoose your children's sextune out painchange your memoriesand live to be 150 if the scientific revolution doesnt destroy us first."[20] The book ended with a chapter called "The Future If Any." While it is rare for current science to be represented in the movies, in this period of "Star Trek", science fiction and science fact seemed to be converging. "Cloning" became a popular word in the media. Woody Allen satirized the cloning of a person from a nose in his 1973 movie Sleeper, and cloning Adolf Hitler from surviving cells was the theme of the 1976 novel by Ira Levin, The Boys from Brazil.[21]

In response to these public concerns, scientists, industry, and governments increasingly linked the power of recombinant DNA to the immensely practical functions that biotechnology promised. One of the key scientific figures that attempted to highlight the promising aspects of genetic engineering was Joshua Lederberg, a Stanford professor and Nobel laureate. While in the 1960s "genetic engineering" described eugenics and work involving the manipulation of the human genome, Lederberg stressed research that would involve microbes instead.[22] Lederberg emphasized the importance of focusing on curing living people. Lederberg's 1963 paper, "Biological Future of Man" suggested that, while molecular biology might one day make it possible to change the human genotype, "what we have overlooked is euphenics, the engineering of human development."[23] Lederberg constructed the word "euphenics" to emphasize changing the phenotype after conception rather than the genotype which would affect future generations.

With the discovery of recombinant DNA by Cohen and Boyer in 1973, the idea that genetic engineering would have major human and societal consequences was born. In July 1974, a group of eminent molecular biologists headed by Paul Berg wrote to Science suggesting that the consequences of this work were so potentially destructive that there should be a pause until its implications had been thought through.[24] This suggestion was explored at a meeting in February 1975 at California's Monterey Peninsula, forever immortalized by the location, Asilomar. Its historic outcome was an unprecedented call for a halt in research until it could be regulated in such a way that the public need not be anxious, and it led to a 16-month moratorium until National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines were established.

Joshua Lederberg was the leading exception in emphasizing, as he had for years, the potential benefits. At Asilomar, in an atmosphere favoring control and regulation, he circulated a paper countering the pessimism and fears of misuses with the benefits conferred by successful use. He described "an early chance for a technology of untold importance for diagnostic and therapeutic medicine: the ready production of an unlimited variety of human proteins. Analogous applications may be foreseen in fermentation process for cheaply manufacturing essential nutrients, and in the improvement of microbes for the production of antibiotics and of special industrial chemicals."[25] In June 1976, the 16-month moratorium on research expired with the Director's Advisory Committee (DAC) publication of the NIH guidelines of good practice. They defined the risks of certain kinds of experiments and the appropriate physical conditions for their pursuit, as well as a list of things too dangerous to perform at all. Moreover, modified organisms were not to be tested outside the confines of a laboratory or allowed into the environment.[18]

Atypical as Lederberg was at Asilomar, his optimistic vision of genetic engineering would soon lead to the development of the biotechnology industry. Over the next two years, as public concern over the dangers of recombinant DNA research grew, so too did interest in its technical and practical applications. Curing genetic diseases remained in the realms of science fiction, but it appeared that producing human simple proteins could be good business. Insulin, one of the smaller, best characterized and understood proteins, had been used in treating type 1 diabetes for a half century. It had been extracted from animals in a chemically slightly different form from the human product. Yet, if one could produce synthetic human insulin, one could meet an existing demand with a product whose approval would be relatively easy to obtain from regulators. In the period 1975 to 1977, synthetic "human" insulin represented the aspirations for new products that could be made with the new biotechnology. Microbial production of synthetic human insulin was finally announced in September 1978 and was produced by a startup company, Genentech.,[26] although that company did not commercialize the product themselves, instead, it licensed the production method to Eli Lilly and Company. 1978 also saw the first application for a patent on a gene, the gene which produces human growth hormone, by the University of California, thus introducing the legal principle that genes could be patented. Since that filing, almost 20% of the more than 20,000 genes in the human DNA have been patented.[27]

The radical shift in the connotation of "genetic engineering" from an emphasis on the inherited characteristics of people to the commercial production of proteins and therapeutic drugs was nurtured by Joshua Lederberg. His broad concerns since the 1960s had been stimulated by enthusiasm for science and its potential medical benefits. Countering calls for strict regulation, he expressed a vision of potential utility. Against a belief that new techniques would entail unmentionable and uncontrollable consequences for humanity and the environment, a growing consensus on the economic value of recombinant DNA emerged.

With ancestral roots in industrial microbiology that date back centuries, the new biotechnology industry grew rapidly beginning in the mid-1970s. Each new scientific advance became a media event designed to capture investment confidence and public support.[28] Although market expectations and social benefits of new products were frequently overstated, many people were prepared to see genetic engineering as the next great advance in technological progress. By the 1980s, biotechnology characterized a nascent real industry, providing titles for emerging trade organizations such as the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

The main focus of attention after insulin were the potential profit makers in the pharmaceutical industry: human growth hormone and what promised to be a miraculous cure for viral diseases, interferon. Cancer was a central target in the 1970s because increasingly the disease was linked to viruses.[29] By 1980, a new company, Biogen, had produced interferon through recombinant DNA. The emergence of interferon and the possibility of curing cancer raised money in the community for research and increased the enthusiasm of an otherwise uncertain and tentative society. Moreover, to the 1970s plight of cancer was added AIDS in the 1980s, offering an enormous potential market for a successful therapy, and more immediately, a market for diagnostic tests based on monoclonal antibodies.[30] By 1988, only five proteins from genetically engineered cells had been approved as drugs by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA): synthetic insulin, human growth hormone, hepatitis B vaccine, alpha-interferon, and tissue plasminogen activator (TPa), for lysis of blood clots. By the end of the 1990s, however, 125 more genetically engineered drugs would be approved.[30]

Genetic engineering also reached the agricultural front as well. There was tremendous progress since the market introduction of the genetically engineered Flavr Savr tomato in 1994.[31] Ernst and Young reported that in 1998, 30% of the U.S. soybean crop was expected to be from genetically engineered seeds. In 1998, about 30% of the US cotton and corn crops were also expected to be products of genetic engineering.[31]

Genetic engineering in biotechnology stimulated hopes for both therapeutic proteins, drugs and biological organisms themselves, such as seeds, pesticides, engineered yeasts, and modified human cells for treating genetic diseases. From the perspective of its commercial promoters, scientific breakthroughs, industrial commitment, and official support were finally coming together, and biotechnology became a normal part of business. No longer were the proponents for the economic and technological significance of biotechnology the iconoclasts.[32] Their message had finally become accepted and incorporated into the policies of governments and industry.

According to Burrill and Company, an industry investment bank, over $350 billion has been invested in biotech since the emergence of the industry, and global revenues rose from $23 billion in 2000 to more than $50 billion in 2005. The greatest growth has been in Latin America but all regions of the world have shown strong growth trends. By 2007 and into 2008, though, a downturn in the fortunes of biotech emerged, at least in the United Kingdom, as the result of declining investment in the face of failure of biotech pipelines to deliver and a consequent downturn in return on investment.[33]

There has been little innovation in the traditional pharmaceutical industry over the past decade and biopharmaceuticals are now achieving the fastest rates of growth against this background, particularly in breast cancer treatment. Biopharmaceuticals typically treat sub-sets of the total population with a disease whereas traditional drugs are developed to treat the population as a whole. However, one of the great difficulties with traditional drugs are the toxic side effects the incidence of which can be unpredictable in individual patients.

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History of biotechnology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Biotechnology Portal

Welcome to the Biotechnology portal. Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine.

Of the many different definitions available, the one declared by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is one of the broadest:

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Biotechnology subcategories:

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Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a species of bacteria that causes tumors (commonly known as 'galls' or 'crown galls') in dicots (Smith et al., 1907). This Gram-negative bacterium causes crown gall by inserting a small segment of DNA (known as the T-DNA, for 'transfer DNA') into the plant cell, which is incorporated at a semi-random location into the plant genome.

Agrobacterium is an alpha proteobacterium of the family Rhizobiaceae, which includes the nitrogen fixing legume symbionts. Unlike the nitrogen fixing symbionts, tumor producing Agrobacterium are parasitic and do not benefit the plant. The wide variety of plants affected by Agrobacterium makes it of great concern to the agriculture industry (Moore et al., 1997).

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Portal:Biotechnology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bio-Technology is a research oriented science, a combination of Biology and Technology. It covers a wide variety of subjects like Genetics, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Immunology, Virology, Chemistry and Engineering and is also concerned with many other subjectslike Health and Medicine, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Cropping system and Crop Management, Ecology, Cell Biology, Soil science and Soil Conservation, Bio-statistics, Plant Physiology, Seed Technology etc. Bio-Technology is the use of living things, especially cells and bacteria in industrial process. There is a great scope in this field as the demand for biotechnologist are growing in India as well as abroad.

There are many applications of biotechnology such as developing various medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, increasing productivity, improving energy production and conservation. Biotechnology's intervention in the area of animal husbandry has improved animal breeding. It also helps to improve the quality of seeds, insecticides and fertilizers. Environmental biotechnology helps for pollution control and waste management.

Most of the information that has led to the emergence of biotechnology in the present form has been generated during the last five decades. The setting up of a separate Department of Biotechnology (DBT) (www.dbtindia.nic.in ) under the Ministry of Science and Technology in 1986 gave a new impetus to the development of the field of modern biology and biotechnology in India. More than 6000 biotechnologists of higher skill are required in India as per the report from the Human Resource Development Ministry. To overcome this vast requirement the department of Biotechnology (DBT) has highlighted the need to set up a regulatory body for the maintenance of standard education under the name of 'All- India Board of Biotechnology Education and Training' under the AICTE .

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Biotechnology

Top 10 biotech companies in India 1. Biocon Established in the year 1978 Biocon, global biopharmaceutical enterprise is actively involved in the manufacturing and development of innovative technologies that includes large-scale chemical synthesis, microbial fermentation, mammalian cell culture, purification of protein & antibody and various aseptic formulations. Chairman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw; Corporate Office Bangalore, India | Sector Private | Website http://www.biocon.com 2. Serum Institute of India Serum Institute of India Ltd. established in the year 1966 is the world's largest producer of Measles and DTP group of vaccines. The company manufactures life-saving Biologicals including Anti-Snake Venom and Tetanus Antitoxin serum, DTP (Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis) and MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) group of vaccines at affordable prices. Chairman Cyrus S. Poonawalla; Location: Pune, India | Sector Private | Website http://www.seruminstitute.com 3. Panacea Biotech Ltd Panacea Biotec established in the year 1976, has strong R and D capabilities with a wide range of pipeline including: Development various complex pharmaceutical generic compounds Technologies) Development of New Chemical Entities (NCE) Vaccines Chairman Soshil Kumar, Corporate Office New Delhi, India | | Business Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology | Sector Private | Website http://www.panacea-biotec.com 4. Novo Nordisk Established in the year 1923, Novo Nordisk is the worlds leader in diabetes care, manufacturing broadest diabetes product that includes development of the most advanced products related to insulin delivery systems. Chairman Sten Scheibye, Corporate Office Denmark, Business -Sector Pharmaceutical- Private | Website http://www.novonordisk.co.in 5. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. One of the earliest pharmaceutical companies in India is GSK India. It was established in the year 1924. The GSK India is an important group of manufacturing products of wide range of prescription medicines and vaccines in therapeutic areas such as dermatology, anti-infectives, diabetes, oncology, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The company also manufactures vaccines for prevention of hepatitis A and B, invasive diseases caused by H. influenzae, chickenpox, DPT, cervical cancer, rotavirus, Streptococcal pneumonia etc. Chairman Chris Gent; Corporate Office London, United Kingdom Business Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical, Sector Private | Website http://www.gsk-india.com 6. SIRO Clinpharm Established in the year 1996 the company provides a wide range of services including Clinical Operations & Clinical Monitoring, Clinical Data management, medical and scientific writing, biostatistics and statistical programming, clinical trial supplies management, pharmacovigilance. Chairman Dr. Gautam Daftary; Corporate Office Thane, India | | | Business Drug Development; Sector Private | Website http://www.siroclinpharm.com 7. Novozymes, South Asia Novozymes a biotech company established in 1925 strongly focus on production of novel enzymes. The companys biosolution provides everything from the removal of trans fats in food to advancements in bioenergy sources. Chairman Kbenhavns Lufthavne; Corporate Office Bagsvaerd, Denmark; Novozymes South Asia Pvt. Ltd. Bangalore, India; Sector Private | Website http://www.novozymes.com 8. Zydus Cadila Zydus Cadila, established in the year 1952, is a fully integrated, global healthcare company with complete healthcare solutions ranging from active pharmaceutical ingredients, formulations products related to animal health care to wellness products. The company is the only Indian pharma establishment that launched the worlds first drug NCE Lipaglyn for treatment of diabetic dyslipidemia. Chairman - Mr. Pankaj R. Patel, Corporate office-Ahmedabad, Sector- Private Website- http://www.zyduscadila.com 9. Indian Immunologicals Indian Immunologicals Ltd. (IIL) was established in 1982 by The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) with the focus to manufacture Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine available to poor people at an affordable price. IIL provides a range of adult as well as child vaccines. Chairman Dr. Amrita Patel; Corporate Office Hyderabad, India Business-sector Biotechnology-private; Website http://www.indimmune.com 10. Wockhardt Ltd. Established in the year 1960 Wockhardt Ltd. is an international manufacturer of biopharmaceutical formulations along with Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). An integrated multi-technology capability was developed by the company for manufacturing all types of dosage formulation that includes sterile injectables and lyophilised products. Chairman Habil Khorakiwala; Corporate Office Mumbai, India; Business Sector Biotechnology and Pharmaceutics-private Website http://www.wockhardt.com

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Top 10 biotech companies and Top 100 biotechnology places ...

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health. The NCBI is located in Bethesda, Maryland and was founded in 1988 through legislation sponsored by Senator Claude Pepper.

The NCBI houses a series of databases relevant to biotechnology and biomedicine. Major databases include GenBank for DNA sequences and PubMed, a bibliographic database for the biomedical literature. Other databases include the NCBI Epigenomics database. All these databases are available online through the Entrez search engine.

NCBI is directed by David Lipman, one of the original authors of the BLAST sequence alignment program and a widely respected figure in bioinformatics. He also leads an intramural research program, including groups led by Stephen Altschul (another BLAST co-author), David Landsman, Eugene Koonin (a prolific author on comparative genomics), John Wilbur, Teresa Przytycka, and Zhiyong Lu.

NCBI is listed in the Registry of Research Data Repositories re3data.org.[1]

NCBI has had responsibility for making available the GenBank DNA sequence database since 1992.[2] GenBank coordinates with individual laboratories and other sequence databases such as those of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ).[3]

Since 1992, NCBI has grown to provide other databases in addition to GenBank. NCBI provides Gene, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, the Molecular Modeling Database (3D protein structures), dbSNP (a database of single-nucleotide polymorphisms), the Reference Sequence Collection, a map of the human genome, and a taxonomy browser, and coordinates with the National Cancer Institute to provide the Cancer Genome Anatomy Project. The NCBI assigns a unique identifier (taxonomy ID number) to each species of organism.[4]

The NCBI has software tools that are available by WWW browsing or by FTP. For example, BLAST is a sequence similarity searching program. BLAST can do sequence comparisons against the GenBank DNA database in less than 15 seconds.

The NCBI Bookshelf is a collection of freely available, downloadable, on-line versions of selected biomedical books. The Bookshelf covers a wide range of topics including molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, microbiology, disease states from a molecular and cellular point of view, research methods, and virology. Some of the books are online versions of previously published books, while others, such as Coffee Break, are written and edited by NCBI staff. The Bookshelf is a complement to the Entrez PubMed repository of peer-reviewed publication abstracts in that Bookshelf contents provide established perspectives on evolving areas of study and a context in which many disparate individual pieces of reported research can be organized.[citation needed]

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National Center for Biotechnology Information - Wikipedia ...

Bacteria are the unicellular organisms and cannot be seen with naked eye. There is no particular method of cell division, they simply divide by binary fission in which cell divides into two daughter cells. They do not have proper nucleus within the cell but the genetic material is attached to the cell membrane in an irregular form. They are found everywhere like top of the mountains, rivers, on land and in ice. Bacteria have the property of living in extreme weathers like extreme cold and extreme heat. They are able to live long because they become inactive for a long period of time.

Bacteria play an important role in the environment: Decomposition of Dead/Complex Organic Matter:

Ever imagined the fate of nature with dead matter of animals/plants lying around? Bacteria play a very crucial role of silently getting the nature rid of the dead matter through the decomposition of dead organic matter by the micobes. Bacteria use them as a source of nutrients, and in turn help in recycling the organic compounds trapped in the dead matter. Through this process, other organisms also get benefited, who can use the simpler forms of organic compounds/nutrients released from the dead matter by various bacteria.

Bioremediation by bacteria Bioremediation refers to the process of depletion/degradation of toxic compounds present in the natural environment by living organisms. Bacteria are one of the key players in Bioremediation. For example, oil spills due to oil digging operations or accidents on oil transport channels in the ocean or on the soil, is highly determinant to the healthy environment. Bacteria like Pseudomonas have been well known for the degradation of oil spills on oceans/soils.

Similarly, Contamination of heavy metals in the environment is a major global concern because of their toxicity and

threat to human life and environment. Bacteria like Alcaligenes faecalis (Arsenic),Pseudomonas fluorescens and Enterobacter clocae (Chromium) are well known for heavy metal uptake/compound metabolism. Waste Water Treatment Owing to their characteristics of degrading harmful chemicals and pollutants, bacteria naturally (as well as deliberately used by industries), help in treatment of waste water.

Image source: biologia.laguia2000.com

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Role of Bacteria in Environment - Biotechnology Forums

biotechnology,the use of biology to solve problems and make useful products. The most prominent area of biotechnology is the production of therapeutic proteins and other drugs through genetic engineering.

People have been harnessing biological processes to improve their quality of life for some 10,000 years, beginning with the first agricultural communities. Approximately 6,000 years ago, humans began to tap the biological processes of microorganisms in order to make bread, alcoholic beverages, and cheese and to preserve dairy products. But such processes are not what is meant today by biotechnology, a term first widely applied to the molecular and cellular technologies that began to emerge in the 1960s and 70s. A fledgling biotech industry began to coalesce in the mid- to late 1970s, led by Genentech, a pharmaceutical company established in 1976 by Robert A. Swanson and Herbert W. Boyer to commercialize the recombinant DNA technology pioneered by Boyer and Stanley N. Cohen. Early companies such as Genentech, Amgen, Biogen, Cetus, and Genex began by manufacturing genetically engineered substances primarily for medical and environmental uses.

For more than a decade, the biotechnology industry was dominated by recombinant DNA technology, or genetic engineering. This technique consists of splicing the gene for a useful protein (often a human protein) into production cellssuch as yeast, bacteria, or mammalian cells in culturewhich then begin to produce the protein in volume. In the process of splicing a gene into a production cell, a new organism is created. At first, biotechnology investors and researchers were uncertain about whether the courts would permit them to acquire patents on organisms; after all, patents were not allowed on new organisms that happened to be discovered and identified in nature. But, in 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty, resolved the matter by ruling that a live human-made microorganism is patentable subject matter. This decision spawned a wave of new biotechnology firms and the infant industrys first investment boom. In 1982 recombinant insulin became the first product made through genetic engineering to secure approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since then, dozens of genetically engineered protein medications have been commercialized around the world, including recombinant versions of growth hormone, clotting factors, proteins for stimulating the production of red and white blood cells, interferons, and clot-dissolving agents.

In the early years, the main achievement of biotechnology was the ability to produce naturally occurring therapeutic molecules in larger quantities than could be derived from conventional sources such as plasma, animal organs, and human cadavers. Recombinant proteins are also less likely to be contaminated with pathogens or to provoke allergic reactions. Today, biotechnology researchers seek to discover the root molecular causes of disease and to intervene precisely at that level. Sometimes this means producing therapeutic proteins that augment the bodys own supplies or that make up for genetic deficiencies, as in the first generation of biotech medications. (Gene therapyinsertion of genes encoding a needed protein into a patients body or cellsis a related approach.) But the biotechnology industry has also expanded its research into the development of traditional pharmaceuticals and monoclonal antibodies that stop the progress of a disease. Such steps are uncovered through painstaking study of genes (genomics), the proteins that they encode (proteomics), and the larger biological pathways in which they act.

In addition to the tools mentioned above, biotechnology also involves merging biological information with computer technology (bioinformatics), exploring the use of microscopic equipment that can enter the human body (nanotechnology), and possibly applying techniques of stem cell research and cloning to replace dead or defective cells and tissues (regenerative medicine). Companies and academic laboratories integrate these disparate technologies in an effort to analyze downward into molecules and also to synthesize upward from molecular biology toward chemical pathways, tissues, and organs.

In addition to being used in health care, biotechnology has proved helpful in refining industrial processes through the discovery and production of biological enzymes that spark chemical reactions (catalysts); for environmental cleanup, with enzymes that digest contaminants into harmless chemicals and then die after consuming the available food supply; and in agricultural production through genetic engineering.

Agricultural applications of biotechnology have proved the most controversial. Some activists and consumer groups have called for bans on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or for labeling laws to inform consumers of the growing presence of GMOs in the food supply. In the United States, the introduction of GMOs into agriculture began in 1993, when the FDA approved bovine somatotropin (BST), a growth hormone that boosts milk production in dairy cows. The next year, the FDA approved the first genetically modified whole food, a tomato engineered for a longer shelf life. Since then, regulatory approval in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere has been won by dozens of agricultural GMOs, including crops that produce their own pesticides and crops that survive the application of specific herbicides used to kill weeds. Studies by the United Nations, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the European Union, the American Medical Association, U.S. regulatory agencies, and other organizations have found GMO foods to be safe, but skeptics contend that it is still too early to judge the long-term health and ecological effects of such crops. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the land area planted in genetically modified crops increased dramatically, from 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) in 1996 to 160 million hectares (395 million acres) by 2011.

Overall, the revenues of U.S. and European biotechnology industries roughly doubled over the five-year period from 1996 through 2000. Rapid growth continued into the 21st century, fueled by the introduction of new products, particularly in health care.

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biotechnology | Britannica.com

(Biotechnology Pay Scales)

What are the average salary ranges for jobs in the Biotechnology category? Well there are a wide range of jobs in the Biotechnology category and their pay varies greatly. If you know the pay grade of the job you are searching for you can narrow down this list to only view Biotechnology jobs that pay less than $30K, $30K-$50K, $50K-$80K, $80K-$100K, or more than $100K. If you are unsure how much your Biotechnology job pays you can choose to either browse all Biotechnology salaries below or you can search all Biotechnology salaries. Other related categories you may wish to browse are Healthcare -- Technicians jobs and Pharmaceuticals jobs.

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Alternate Job Titles: Entry Level Biochemist , Chemist I, biological

Alternate Job Titles: Intermediate Level Biochemist , Chemist II, biological

Alternate Job Titles: Senior Biochemist , Chemist III, biological

Alternate Job Titles: Entry Level Biologist

Alternate Job Titles: Intermediate Level Biologist

Alternate Job Titles: Senior Biologist

Alternate Job Titles: Biologist - Specialist , Biologist - Consultant

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Biotechnology Salaries | Salary.com

A disruptive technology that saves lives and improves patient care Main menu Marx Biotechnology is developing a proprietary first-in-class molecular diagnostic kit for the early detection of Graft versus Host Disease (GVHD). GVHD is a life threatening complication of allogeneic (non-self) stem cell transplantation such as bone marrow, peripheral blood or cord blood transplantation

and solid organ transplantations. The cells from the donor react

adversely to the cells in the patient. GVHD affects approximately 50% of all such transplant patients, frequently resulting in death. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_8PcfZSkrI Marx Bios approach has 5 clear advantages:

Incorporated in Jerusalem in January 2011, the Marx Bio team has completed proof of concept in animal studies, has published in a peer reviewed journal, and has filed three patents. It is commencing a Phase 1 clinical trial in humans in Tel Aviv.

Marx Bio has a clear work schedule to deliver a validated and cleared product, ready for market entry within 36 to 48 months. The company is looking for strategic partners to join in that journey.

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At its simplest, biotechnology is technology based on biology - biotechnology harnesses cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies and products that help improve our lives and the health of our planet. We have used the biological processes of microorganisms for more than 6,000 years to make useful food products, such as bread and cheese, and to preserve dairy products.

Modern biotechnology provides breakthrough products and technologies to combat debilitating and rare diseases, reduce our environmental footprint, feed the hungry, use less and cleaner energy, and have safer, cleaner and more efficient industrial manufacturing processes.

Currently, there are more than 250 biotechnology health care products and vaccines available to patients, many for previously untreatable diseases. More than 18 million farmers around the world use agricultural biotechnology to increase yields, prevent damage from insects and pests and reduce farming's impact on the environment. And more than 50 biorefineries are being built across North America to test and refine technologies to produce biofuels and chemicals from renewable biomass, which can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Recent advances in biotechnology are helping us prepare for and meet societys most pressing challenges. Here's how:

Biotech is helping toheal the worldby harnessing nature's own toolbox and using our own genetic makeup to heal and guide lines of research by:

Biotech uses biological processes such as fermentation and harnesses biocatalysts such as enzymes, yeast, and other microbes to become microscopic manufacturing plants. Biotech is helping tofuel the worldby:

Biotech improves crop insect resistance, enhances crop herbicide tolerance and facilitates the use of more environmentally sustainable farming practices. Biotech is helping tofeed the worldby:

Source: Healing, Fueling, Feeding: How Biotechnology is Enriching Your Life

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What is Biotechnology? | BIO

Pamela Peters, from Biotechnology: A Guide To Genetic Engineering. Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Inc., 1993.

Biotechnology in one form or another has flourished since prehistoric times. When the first human beings realized that they could plant their own crops and breed their own animals, they learned to use biotechnology. The discovery that fruit juices fermented into wine, or that milk could be converted into cheese or yogurt, or that beer could be made by fermenting solutions of malt and hops began the study of biotechnology. When the first bakers found that they could make a soft, spongy bread rather than a firm, thin cracker, they were acting as fledgling biotechnologists. The first animal breeders, realizing that different physical traits could be either magnified or lost by mating appropriate pairs of animals, engaged in the manipulations of biotechnology.

What then is biotechnology? The term brings to mind many different things. Some think of developing new types of animals. Others dream of almost unlimited sources of human therapeutic drugs. Still others envision the possibility of growing crops that are more nutritious and naturally pest-resistant to feed a rapidly growing world population. This question elicits almost as many first-thought responses as there are people to whom the question can be posed.

In its purest form, the term "biotechnology" refers to the use of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment. Prehistoric biotechnologists did this as they used yeast cells to raise bread dough and to ferment alcoholic beverages, and bacterial cells to make cheeses and yogurts and as they bred their strong, productive animals to make even stronger and more productive offspring.

Throughout human history, we have learned a great deal about the different organisms that our ancestors used so effectively. The marked increase in our understanding of these organisms and their cell products gains us the ability to control the many functions of various cells and organisms. Using the techniques of gene splicing and recombinant DNA technology, we can now actually combine the genetic elements of two or more living cells. Functioning lengths of DNA can be taken from one organism and placed into the cells of another organism. As a result, for example, we can cause bacterial cells to produce human molecules. Cows can produce more milk for the same amount of feed. And we can synthesize therapeutic molecules that have never before existed.

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What is Biotechnology ? - Access Excellence

"Bioscience" redirects here. For the scientific journal, see BioScience. For life sciences generally, see life science.

Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2).[1] Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with the (related) fields of bioengineering, biomedical engineering, etc.

For thousands of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production, and medicine.[2] The term is largely believed to have been coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer Kroly Ereky. In the late 20th and early 21st century, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences such as genomics, recombinant gene techniques, applied immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests.[2]

The wide concept of "biotech" or "biotechnology" encompasses a wide range of procedures for modifying living organisms according to human purposes, going back to domestication of animals, cultivation of plants, and "improvements" to these through breeding programs that employ artificial selection and hybridization. Modern usage also includes genetic engineering as well as cell and tissue culture technologies. The American Chemical Society defines biotechnology as the application of biological organisms, systems, or processes by various industries to learning about the science of life and the improvement of the value of materials and organisms such as pharmaceuticals, crops, and livestock.[3] As per European Federation of Biotechnology, Biotechnology is the integration of natural science and organisms, cells, parts thereof, and molecular analogues for products and services.[4] Biotechnology also writes on the pure biological sciences (animal cell culture, biochemistry, cell biology, embryology, genetics, microbiology, and molecular biology). In many instances, it is also dependent on knowledge and methods from outside the sphere of biology including:

Conversely, modern biological sciences (including even concepts such as molecular ecology) are intimately entwined and heavily dependent on the methods developed through biotechnology and what is commonly thought of as the life sciences industry. Biotechnology is the research and development in the laboratory using bioinformatics for exploration, extraction, exploitation and production from any living organisms and any source of biomass by means of biochemical engineering where high value-added products could be planned (reproduced by biosynthesis, for example), forecasted, formulated, developed, manufactured and marketed for the purpose of sustainable operations (for the return from bottomless initial investment on R & D) and gaining durable patents rights (for exclusives rights for sales, and prior to this to receive national and international approval from the results on animal experiment and human experiment, especially on the pharmaceutical branch of biotechnology to prevent any undetected side-effects or safety concerns by using the products).[5][6][7]

By contrast, bioengineering is generally thought of as a related field that more heavily emphasizes higher systems approaches (not necessarily the altering or using of biological materials directly) for interfacing with and utilizing living things. Bioengineering is the application of the principles of engineering and natural sciences to tissues, cells and molecules. This can be considered as the use of knowledge from working with and manipulating biology to achieve a result that can improve functions in plants and animals.[8] Relatedly, biomedical engineering is an overlapping field that often draws upon and applies biotechnology (by various definitions), especially in certain sub-fields of biomedical and/or chemical engineering such as tissue engineering, biopharmaceutical engineering, and genetic engineering.

Although not normally what first comes to mind, many forms of human-derived agriculture clearly fit the broad definition of "'utilizing a biotechnological system to make products". Indeed, the cultivation of plants may be viewed as the earliest biotechnological enterprise.

Agriculture has been theorized to have become the dominant way of producing food since the Neolithic Revolution. Through early biotechnology, the earliest farmers selected and bred the best suited crops, having the highest yields, to produce enough food to support a growing population. As crops and fields became increasingly large and difficult to maintain, it was discovered that specific organisms and their by-products could effectively fertilize, restore nitrogen, and control pests. Throughout the history of agriculture, farmers have inadvertently altered the genetics of their crops through introducing them to new environments and breeding them with other plants one of the first forms of biotechnology.

These processes also were included in early fermentation of beer.[9] These processes were introduced in early Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and India, and still use the same basic biological methods. In brewing, malted grains (containing enzymes) convert starch from grains into sugar and then adding specific yeasts to produce beer. In this process, carbohydrates in the grains were broken down into alcohols such as ethanol. Later other cultures produced the process of lactic acid fermentation which allowed the fermentation and preservation of other forms of food, such as soy sauce. Fermentation was also used in this time period to produce leavened bread. Although the process of fermentation was not fully understood until Louis Pasteur's work in 1857, it is still the first use of biotechnology to convert a food source into another form.

Before the time of Charles Darwin's work and life, animal and plant scientists had already used selective breeding. Darwin added to that body of work with his scientific observations about the ability of science to change species. These accounts contributed to Darwin's theory of natural selection.[10]

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Biotechnology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia